Cacio e Pepe Fougasse
Baker Casey Wentworth of Automat | San Francisco
Yield: 12 fougasse
Adapted by StarChefs | november 2022
INGREDIENTS:
Poolish:
625 grams malted bread flour
1 gram yeast
Levain:
300 grams malted wheat flour
30 grams sourdough starter
Scald:
500 grams durum flour
Autolyse:
1.55 kilograms malted wheat flour
800 grams high-gluten wheat flour
750 grams Ambrosi Grana Padano PDO stock
Neutral oil for greasing
To Assemble and Serve:
9 grams yeast
80 grams salt
250 grams extra virgin olive oil, plus more for greasing and brushing
All-purpose flour for shaping
Ground black pepper
Ambrosi Grana Padano PDO
Sea salt flakes
METHOD:
For the Poolish:
In a bowl, combine bread flour, yeast, and 625 grams room temperature water. Using your hands, mix to combine. Cover and let ferment 10 to 12 hours.
For the Levain:
In a bowl, combine wheat flour, sourdough starter, and 300 grams room temperature water. Using your hands, mix to combine. Cover and let ferment 10 to 12 hours.
For the Scald:
In a pot, bring 1 kilogram water to a boil. Place durum flour in a bowl. Pour the boiling water over the flour. Using a spatula, mix thoroughly to create a smooth paste. Cover and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight.
For the Autolyse:
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine flours, Grana Padano stock, and 750 grams warm water. Mix until smooth, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer the dough to a greased, nonreactive container. Cover and let rest 8 hours or overnight.
To Assemble and Serve:
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment, combine yeast, Autolyse, 1.25 kilograms ripe Poolish, 600 grams mature Levain. Mix 3 to 4 minutes or until dough ball forms. Let rest 5 minutes. Add salt and 200 grams water. On low speed, mix 3 to 4 minutes. Let rest 5 minutes. Dough should be stretchy, strong, and pass the windowpane test. Add olive oil. On medium speed, mix 2 minutes. Add scald. On low speed, mix until homogenous and there are no visible streaks. Mix in more water as needed. Transfer dough to a well-greased container with enough room to triple in size. Let proof 1 hour, coil-folding the dough every 20 minutes. After the third fold, let bulk ferment 1 hour and 30 minutes to 2 hours. Cut and portion the dough into 600-gram rounds. Place each round onto a well-floured couches. Let rest 1 hour. Heat a deck oven to 500°F on steam. Place the rounds onto a well-floured work surface. Using a plastic bench cutter, cut 4 to 5 lines into the dough, stretching with each cut to prevent dough from resealing. Stretch to desired shape. Load fougasse onto a bread peel, then bake 13 to 15 minutes, venting after 5 minutes. Place fougasses on a metal rack. Brush with olive oil, then top with black pepper, Grana Padano, and sea salt flakes.
